Forfeits and not being able to field a full lineup are an issue, but the Comets are competitive in some weight classes.

“We started out the night strong against Franklin, winning four of the six matches that were contested. Against Patrick County we were able to get three of the five, so we were still considering it a solid night overall. We slipped a little against Bassett, only winning one of the five matches that were wrestled. One of those losses was a very hard fought match at 52 for Tyler Mabe where he lost in overtime,” said Comet coach David Riddle.

“There were some positives from the night. Tyler Hudson had another great night, going 3-0 after having to wrestle in all three matches. He is now 9-0 in our Piedmont dual meets. Minjune was able to also go 3-0. A couple were forfeits, but he also wrestled his best match of the year in a solid 12-7 win against Franklin. Ballou and Mabe both picked up their first losses of the year against Bassett, but the two wins were impressive and even in defeat they had solid matches,” said Riddle.

“We knew that the dual meets were going to be a bit of a struggle considering the forfeits that we are giving up, but as coaches we were pleased to go .500 in the matches that were wrestled considering many of these guys have less than 10 overall bouts for their entire career. We are getting tougher as we go along. Even in the defeats we are not giving up points or pins as easily, and in a few of the losses we were up or close in points and just got pinned by mental mistakes,” said Riddle.

“We have the Rocket Invite up next, which is more of an individual weight class event than a team event. We should be able to show our strengths there and have quite a few wrestlers have podium finishes,” said Riddle.